Just Plain Sadie Read Free Page A

fingers.
    What was wrong with her? She must have been out in the heat too long, though it was the prettiest day in January that she could ever remember. Seventy degrees couldn’t really be described as hot.
    â€œWell, Sadie Kauffman. I’ll be seeing you.”
    She smiled at his words. Was that promise she heard in his voice, or merely wishful thinking on her part?
    â€œHe’s flirty,” Chris commented as they turned to go. He wore a frown on his face, his brow wrinkled with disapproval.
    Sadie had almost forgotten he was with her. “He’s just nice,” she said.
    â€œIf you say so.”
    â€œI do.” As they walked back down the aisle to find their friends, Sadie looked back at the stand.
    Ezra was looking after them, her business card in one hand and a smile on his face. He caught her gaze and gave her a little wave.
    Sadie returned it, then faced front, trying not to count down the days until she would see Ezra again.

Chapter Two
    Ezra packed up the last of his stand and closed the tailgate of his ranch truck. The card that Sadie Kauffman gave him burned in his pocket somewhere over his chest. How a tiny piece of paper could feel so heavy and warm was a mystery he was sure to never uncover. But he was intrigued. It was that simple.
    He went around to the driver side and slid onto the bench seat. His cousin, Logan, slipped into the passenger side as Ezra started the engine.
    â€œIt was a pretty good day, don’t you think?” Logan asked as they pulled the truck from the parking lot.
    â€œYeah,” Ezra said as he eased onto the street that would take them to the highway and back to the Mennonite community of Taylor Creek.
    â€œDid that girl come back?”
    â€œWhich girl?” Ezra asked, though he knew. Logan was talking about the Amish girl, Sadie. The one Ezra couldn’t get out of his head.
    â€œThe Amish girl looking for bison meat. Kinda plain. A little on the quiet side.”
    Quiet Ezra could agree with, but plain? Not a word he would use to describe her. He supposed if a person took all of her features and examined them, she might be considered on the ordinary side. Her smile maybe. Or it could be her eyes. Though they were merely hazel and not anything traditionally unusual. Still, there was something about Sadie Kauffman. An energy that hummed around her like electricity during a thunderstorm.
    â€œYeah,” Ezra finally managed. “She came back.” He turned on his blinker and changed lanes. “She said her family owns a restaurant in Wells Landing.”
    â€œThat one on Main Street?” Logan asked.
    Ezra shrugged. “I guess so.” Unlike his friends and cousins, Ezra rarely made it out of Taylor Creek. He had work to do. And a lot of it. His mother depended on him. He couldn’t be running all over the county. That was why he hired others to deliver his exotic meats. That was one thing he could trust others with. But his animals . . . they were like family members. He didn’t trust them with anyone. He couldn’t walk down the street and randomly pick out people who could take care of his exotics. That responsibility was his and his alone.
    â€œYou, cousin, need to get out more.” Logan smiled at him in that rascally way that he had. Ezra knew the look well. A few years back he would have returned the grin with one of his own, equally mischievous. But that was before . . .
    â€œYeah, yeah,” he said, hoping his cousin would drop the matter. He was tired of defending himself. Tired of having to explain why he worked so hard. None of them seemed to understand. Of course, none of them had come home to find their father gone and their mother weeping on the floor.
    He shook his head, releasing those thoughts. They led nowhere good. No sense looking back. Only to remember and know what not to do.
    â€œSo are you in?” Logan tapped his hand against the seat between them, shaking Ezra from his